NEWS

Germany’s leading businesses joined forces for their vision of sustainable economic cooperation with African countries. Africa is on the rise and is teeming with infinite potential for sustainable economic and social transformation. A brilliance of young promising leaders, female and male, share the vision of ensuring both economic and social success and becoming the backbone of new developments in the German African relationship.

The programme AFRIKA KOMMT! brings together the most visionary young leaders from Africa and German companies. Companies benefit from the expertise, knowledge, local network and unique African perspective of the young professionals. The African fellows dive deep into the German corporate specifics, German business spirit and the German culture. Empowered with international experience, technical skills and German language they become African change agents for the sake of both: the German business relations with Africa as well as for economic and social growth in the fellows’ home countries and communities.

GIZ implements the program, organizes the selection process on behalf of the German partner companies, and provides professional and personal support to all participants during their stay in Germany. GIZ enables the selected Fellows to gain a one-year professional, but also personal experience in Germany. The central part of the program is an 8-month practical training in the partner company, accompanied by German lessons, management training and study trips.

An important part of the stay in Germany are International Management Trainings (IMTs), in which the Fellows develop their competence in leadership and management in an international context. Since February 2021, PEM CONSULT has been implementing the International Management Trainings (IMTs) of the 9th and 10th year of AFRIKA KOMMT! on behalf of GIZ.

The training courses, which last at least four days, are held in three modules at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the program phase. The contents are coordinated with the practical experiences and the current work situations in the participating companies of the Fellows. The main topics and contents of the three proven IMTs are:

1. IMT I - Intercultural Competence and Communication

2. IMT II - Change Management and Change Processes

3. IMT III - Project completion, program reflection and outlook

In the three modules, the fellows acquire central, interdisciplinary core competencies in international management. The topics include intercultural competence, communication, moderation and presentation, project management, leadership skills, teamwork, and cooperation, change and conflict management, agile methods (design thinking) and agile project management.